Staying Healthy by Eating Right at Work

Smarter Eats: Keep a Stash of Healthy Snacks at Your Desk

In the past, whenever my co-workers and I got hungry, we would hightail it to the nearest food mart — some of my colleagues never even made it past the break room vending machine. Not only is this bad for the wallet, it's also bad for the waistline. Mostly everything in a vending machine is crap, and most mini marts don't offer much beyond chips and candy.

One way to eat healthier is to always make sure you have access to nutritious foods. Since this can be a problem at work, I've started stashing healthy snacks at my desk. That way, when I'm hungry I can grab something that's good for me instead of heading out to find the least offensive food culprit. Having healthy snacks at your desk is also a great way to curb hunger before it gets too great. During the workday, it's especially important that the body gets the fuel it needs to remain energized and alert.

My current snack stash includes almonds, whole wheat crackers, granola, and satsuma oranges — I also keep yogurt and nonfat milk in the office refrigerator. Before you head to work, put a few healthy snacks in your bag that you can keep at your desk; it's definitely a nice treat to give yourself during the day.

I don't usually eat at work since we're only allowed to eat on our breaks in the lounge. What I usually do is bring fruit and a bag of nuts or something to nosh on during my morning break. And if I forget, I run down to the hospital cafeteria to pick up something healthy from there. No vending machine food here!

my office keeps apples, oranges, granola bars, almonds, and sugar free pudding snacks in the kitchen. They also have chips, a candy dish and sometimes a few other sweets, but I pretend they arent there. : )